A local’s guide to Port Stephens: ‘Everyone’s pretty excited about the new coastal walk’

Food

Port Stephens is two and a half hours north of Sydney on country traditionally owned by the Worimi. It’s a huge area but tourists usually just think of Nelson Bay. But when locals refer to “the bay” we mean Anna Bay to Soldiers Point, about a 30-minute drive, with Fingal Bay, Shoal Bay, Nelson Bay, Corlette and Salamander Bay in between.

When we moved here 18 years ago there weren’t many food or coffee options. Thanks to more people moving up from Sydney, that’s changed. Two Bobs is the bay’s first sourdough bakery with excellent pastries, fresh bread, coffee and pantry treats. Little Beach Boathouse has a tapas-style menu downstairs and fine dining upstairs. The owners recently opened Restaurant 2317 on Soldiers Point marina.

Bannisters opened in 2018 in a renovated 1960s motel. It brings in a lot of people from outside the area. Rick Stein’s restaurant is on the middle floor: great service and a focus on seafood such as local oysters and Stockton pipis. At pool level is Julio’s Mexican with great margaritas. Cheeky Dog on the ground floor has a relaxed pub vibe with wood-fired pizza.

The best coffee in the Bay is The Little Nel; people line the street for a breakfast table. Cafe Kin has good coffee and a more eclectic vibe. Satra is a cute coffee caravan in front of a florist. Locals head to Aussie Bobs for fish and chips.

Green spaces

One Mile Beach is ocean-facing with a beautiful curve of sand that you might get all to yourself in the off-season. It’s bushland on one end and rocks and sand dunes on the other.

Everyone’s pretty excited about the new 27km coastal walk in Tomaree national park. You can pick and choose sections or do it as a two-day hike. I did it with my bird-watching sister as a two-hour walk from Fingal Bay, south towards Samurai beach (clothing optional!). We went through a rainforest canopy to low coastal scrub and on to rocky outcrops submerged in the sea. You can see birds riding the updrafts and the bright blue water really pops against the red rocks.

Birubi beach in Anna Bay has the largest coastal sand dunes in the southern hemisphere (Stockton Bight sand dunes) with activities from camel and horse riding to sand surfing. The shape of the dunes is always changing. It’s a sacred place for the Worimi; the Worimi local Aboriginal Land Council runs a company called Sand Dune Adventures. We did a quad bike tour with them when my kids were younger. They loved it!

Nightlife

There’s not much happening at night. We drove home from Newcastle recently and at 7.30 or 8pm, there was no one on the street! It’s an older population, but also, it’s such a nice place to be during the day. It’s more of a breakfast culture.

My kids are 21 and 18 years old and Shoal Bay Country Club is the only spot they’d go. It has DJs and live music but they go to catch up with friends. They’d go to Newcastle for nightlife (a 45-minute drive). The country club has a divine Greek restaurant called Atmos and a beautiful view towards Tomaree mountain.

Inspiration

It’s so creative up here. The Port Stephens Community Arts Centre has more than 300 members. We’ve got 20 members at the Artisan Collective and we’re selective. It’s a big open space on d’Albora Marinas in Nelson Bay. You’ll always find an artist on duty and a new exhibition each month. We have a huge variety of work from jewellery to ceramics, crochet, glass art and books.

Related: A local’s guide to Coffs Harbour: ‘The culture here is being outside’

The Marina market on Nelson Bay foreshore is really nice too, with food, music and handmade wares.

Neighbourhood

Nelson Bay was the original town but a lot of the core services moved to Salamander Bay – supermarkets like Woolworths and Aldi – so now Nelson Bay is where the tourists go to wander around, drink coffee and spend money in nice boutique shops. Fingal Bay is a beautiful bay beach, quite protected, with just one or two cafes and restaurants; it has more of a seaside feel. Anna Bay is on the ocean and has Stockton beach, which goes all the way down to Newcastle. It’s just stunning. Shoal Bay is a bit more built up. Corlette is small and fairly residential. Soldiers Point is a strip of land that’s kind of inland, surrounded by water.

Stay

Bannisters (from $239 a night, off season) is laid-back luxury. The pool is heated and some rooms are pet-friendly. The Landmark Nelson Bay (from $300-$500 a night for a two-bedroom water view room) is a big complex on the top of the hill. There’s so many caravan parks in the bay. Shoal Bay Holiday Park (from $40 a night for a powered campsite and from $245 for a standard villa) is the most central. It’s close to Nelson Bay and Fingal Bay and has restaurants in walking distance. You can do the Tomaree Head summit walk from the end of the street.

• Anna Webster is a local artist and a member of the Artisan Collective